The Thinking Game
| The Thinking Game | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Greg Kohs |
| Produced by |
|
| Cinematography | Greg Kohs |
| Edited by | Steven Sander |
| Music by | Dan Deacon |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Google DeepMind YouTube |
Release dates |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Thinking Game is a 2024 documentary film directed by Greg Kohs. It follows Demis Hassabis and the Google DeepMind team as they solve the "grand challenge" of biology—the protein folding problem—using the AI system AlphaFold, while pursuing the broader goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI).[1]
The film documents the scientific work that ultimately led to Hassabis and John Jumper being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024. Following a limited theatrical run, the film was released for free on YouTube in late 2025, where it became a viral phenomenon, amassing over 200 million views in four weeks.[2]
Premise
Filmed over five years, The Thinking Game chronicles the work of Demis Hassabis at Google DeepMind's headquarters in London.
The documentary focuses on the development of AlphaFold, an AI system designed to predict the 3D structure of proteins. This culminates in DeepMind's participation in the 14th Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction (CASP14) in 2020, where the system successfully solved a 50-year-old biological problem.[3] This achievement is framed as part of a broader effort to develop artificial general intelligence capable of accelerating scientific discovery.
Release
The Thinking Game had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 7, 2024.[1] It was subsequently screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
The film received a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom beginning March 21, 2025.[4] It was released globally via YouTube on November 26, 2025. By late December 2025, the documentary had surpassed 200 million views on the platform.[5]
Reception
Critical response
Early critical response to The Thinking Game was positive, with praise directed at its accessibility and the scope of its scientific subject matter. Writing for The Guardian, Leslie Felperin described the film as a "competent, fluent documentary" that offers an "approachable entry" into the subject of AGI, though noting it occasionally carried the flavor of a "corporate video."[4]
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the film's success on YouTube, noting its appeal to a broad audience beyond the tech sector.[6] Reviews generally highlighted the film's ability to humanize the technical team behind DeepMind, contrasting the abstract fears of AI with practical scientific applications.
Accolades
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tribeca Festival | Official Selection: Spotlight Documentary | Nominated | [1] |
| 2024 | Vancouver International Film Festival | Official Selection | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | Official Selection | Nominated |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "The Thinking Game". Tribeca Festival. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ "200 million views in 4 weeks: Google AI CEO Demis Hassabis celebrates success of The Thinking Game documentary on YouTube". The Times of India. December 31, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ Callaway, Ewen (November 30, 2020). "'It will change everything': DeepMind's AI makes gigantic leap in solving protein structures". Nature. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ a b Felperin, Leslie (March 19, 2025). "The Thinking Game review – DeepMind study offers wide-lens view of our tech lords and AGI". The Guardian. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ "Inside the AI lab that made history". The Express Tribune. January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ "Google DeepMind's Documentary Becomes a YouTube Hit". The Wall Street Journal. January 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.